The TWO ONE: 'Caps must reverse fortunes and make September a month to remember

As we move into the month of September, with our first game this weekend against Chivas USA, we really need to make it a month to remember in order to secure our berth in the playoffs for the second straight year.

Following our meeting with the Goats, we have three road matches against FC Dallas, San Jose Earthquakes and Montreal Impact before returning home to host first-place Real Salt Lake on September 28. By that time, we’ll likely have a much clearer picture of the Western Conference playoff race.

But when you look at the games we have played in September since joining Major League Soccer in 2011, our record is 0W-4L-3D. For our ‘Caps, September has been a month to forget and that cannot be repeated.

There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a critical month and it starts with a must-win game against Chivas USA. This is not because of who we’re playing but because it’s another home game, so we have to take care of business.

Highlights: Timbers 1 - 1 Whitecaps FC

Winning this match will give the team a lift going into three important games on the road. They are going to be tough but this team has shown they are a more accomplished team on their travels.

In our last road matches, we went into Portland and got a well-deserved point in a hostile environment. In Colorado, we missed some good chances before conceding a goal in one of our best spells of the game and ended up losing 2-0.

In spite of this, we are still very much in control of our own destiny. Getting the likes of Andy O’Brien and soon Jay DeMerit back in the lineup is going to be a huge positive, especially going into a tough stretch of road games.

As hard as some recent results have been, we are still creating good chances at home and on our travels, which is a positive, but we need to find that killer touch in front of goal again.

Yes, September has not been too kind to us in the past, but it’s time to change that. It’s time to make September a month to remember.